On February 20, 2020 Gretchen Sionkiewicz was the featured speaker at the Rotary Club of Lynn weekly luncheon at the Old Tyme restaurant on Boston Street.
Gretchen graduated from Salem University earning a BS Biology, and in Pharmaceutical Sciences. She is a Certified Immunizer, a Certified Diabetes Educator, and is certified in Medication Therapy Management. Gretchen is currently employed as a Pharmacist at the Village Pharmacy in Marblehead. Previously she was employed by CVS, Walgreen’s and Eaton’s Apothecary. She is the mother of a son graduating from at U Mass – Lowell with a BS in Chemical Engineering and a daughter, a senior at Bishop Fenwick.
She shared with the Club a little of her history in the world of Pharmaceuticals. She moved from the chain pharmacies to the smaller local pharmacy mainly because of the ability to provide greater customer support than the “Mega” stores offer. She is able to spend more time with her customers and answer their questions and address their concerns a lot better than the other Pharmacies, including the mail order factories.
She also answered several questions from the Club members, along the line of where do the medicines come from, what is CBD, what are the current opportunities are in the field. She let us know that a great percentage of the medicines are imported from China and Europe. And CBD is derived from the marijuana plant, but does not have the THC compound which causes the “High” from smoking marijuana. The CBD can relieve many bodily pains, it is sold by the Village Pharmacy, and they obtain it from trusted sources. As far as opportunities in the field, she would not want her children to follow her career path; there are many more graduates in the field than there are available positions.
In the picture are Gretchen with her mother, Club Secretary Joyce Elliott and Club President Bill Reilly.
